I've entered a song in the CBC Kids Viewer Voted Song Search and I really need you to go to their website and cast a vote for me.  You can vote once a day until May 8th and you could win a trip to Toronto. 

www.cbc.ca/parents/songsearch

Thanks so much...

Dan

 

I'm pleased to let all of you know that my new album, "Priceless" is set to be released on Monday February 11th!

Being a children's entertainer is an awfully fun way to make a living. I love to have fun when I perform, and there are some songs that I have been performing for a while that are fun, humourous and engaging, such as "Stand Up Sit Down", "I Love Kraft Dinner", and "Hand Me Downs".  I'm always getting asked if I am going to record them.  Well, now I have...

"Priceless" contains songs that I've been playing for a while as well as some newer ones that I will be playing for years to come.

Walk Along the Shore
I Love Kraft Dinner
Hand Me Downs
Stand Up Sit Down
Priceless
Down to the River
Adults Are Crazy
We Built a Barn
Seagull Blues
Double Double
 

Here's a video of my recent performance of the very deep and theologically inspiring "Don't Pick Your Nose".  This video was taken at YC Newfoundland and Labrador in St. John's NL on October 6, 2012.



Here's the winning Twitter post...

Hey everyone!  Just to let you know that because of  "God is in My Corner", Dan was named 2011 Gospel Artist of the Year at this years MusicNL awards!! 

In honor of the win, I'm going to post the video of Sanchez in the studio with Dean Stairs.  Hope you enjoy!

Hey all...

"In My Corner" was recently nominated for a Covenant Award for Children's Song of the Year!  The Covenant Awards are presented by the Canadian Gospel Music Association and will be handed out in October.

I am going to be speaking at our provincial children's camp all next week!  It's called Kids Rock Camp... and it's going to be a riot.  I will fill you in when it's all said and done.

Have you ever noticed the way that a song sticks in your head?  I'm thinking something like the keyboard break in "Jump" by Van Halen, or the chorus to "Sweet Home Alabama".  They seem to get in your head, and you cannot get them out.

The elements of a song, whether it is a lyric combined with a catchy melody, or a part of the actual music that sticks in your mind, is called the "HOOK".  This is not random.  Songwriters spend years perfecting their ability to write hooks, and when they are are done well they literally mean the difference between an obscure song and a hit.  Most of the songs on the radio are written in such a way that if you hear it once or twice, you remember it.  It is part art, and part science.

I'm not sure who writes Katy Perry's songs, but they are masters at crafting hooks.  "Put your hands on me in my skin tight jeans, I'll be your teenage dream tonight."  "I kissed a girl and I liked it, the taste of her cherry chapstick."  Catchy.  But can you see the danger when, as followers of Christ, we allow our children to get these songs stuck in their heads? 

Now...I'm not one of those people who say that all Christian music is good and all non-Christian music is bad, across the board.  I am a firm believer that when our children reach an age (probably in their teens) when they are able to process these messages, that we need to sit down with them and talk them through.  Being able to filter the messages of the media through God's Word is an important skill for this generation of believers.  And while there is plenty of stuff out there that followers of Christ need to stay away from, we often overlook brilliant art because we are scared of the "secular" title.  BUT until our kids are able to process what they are hearing, we need to protect them from these things.  Let me rephrase that...they need us to protect them.

Why?  When a song gets stuck in your head, you meditate on it.  Psalm 1 talks about how we should meditate on God's Word, but when our kids have these songs and messages in their heads, they are meditating on things that are contrary to God's word. 

What do you think about this?  Am I being over-dramatic?  Let me know what you think.

And let me in on what song you have stuck in YOUR head!  ("Friends are friends forever.." :) )

Tonight as I was flicking through the channels, a video on Much Music caught my eye. It was the definite 80's vibe that made me stop and check it out. I only caught the last minute or so of the video. As far as I could tell, it was a brand new video by a very popular female singer. The imagery was fun, had a party feel, and seemed fairly innocent. Then I listened to the lyrics.

I have no way of knowing this for sure, because I haven't been able to find the stats, but I think that the average age of viewership for Much Music is decreasing. Based on my interaction with children in both church and school environments, I think that children are becoming interested in music - and the videos that go along with them - at younger ages than in years past. If my theory is right, and if we consider that many of the songs are based around concepts that are quite adult in nature, our children are being exposed to ideas and imagery that will have negative effects in the future, both spiritually and socially.

It essentially means that an outside source, that cares nothing about our children or their well-being, is having an immense effect on the moral and spiritual development of our children.

But even if you don't claim to follow Christ or ascribe to Christian ideas of morality, it is hard to not admit that it is dangerous and borderline abusive to be exposing children and young teens to such explicit images and lyrics at a point in their lives when they are not developmentally ready to process them in a healthy way. (In reality, these are images and ideas that no one should be exposed to). Christian or not, the sexual imagery in the lyrics and videos can have nothing but a negative effect on our children. We are allowing our children to be robbed of their innocence, and they are being forced to grow up before they are ready. And that is dangerous.

What do you think? Do you agree? Disagree? How do we address this in our own families? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Here's a sample from the album.  Hope you enjoy!